Vending-machine.



N0. 7!],634. Patentedflct. 2|, 1902.

F. A. KNAPP.

VENDING MACHINE.

(Application filed Apr 15, 1902.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

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N0. 71!,634. Patented Oct. 2|, I902.

F. A. KNAPP.

VENDING MACHINE.

(Application filed Apr. 15, 1902.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK ABNER KNAPP, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO SOPHIE KLUG, OFHOBOKEN, NE\V JERSEY.

VENDING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 71 1,634, dated October21, 1902.

Application filed April 15, 1902. Serial No. 102,970. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK ABNER KNAPP, a citizen of the United States,residing in New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending-Machines,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vending-machines; and it consists,substantially, in theimprove- IO ments hereinafter described.

The invention has reference more especially to vending-machines of thatclass or type in which the delivery of packages and the like is effectedthrough the instrumentality of devices which are normally locked againstmovement, but which are rendered capable of being operated on deposit inthe machine of a coin or other value of predetermined size or weight.

The principal object of the invention is to provide simplified andreliably-operating devices for effecting release of the displacer orejector for the packages each time a coin of predetermined size orweight is deposited in the machine and also to provide means whereby onexhaustion of the stock or supply of packages in the machine the coinslot or entrance will be automatically closed, so as to prevent depositsof coin at times when no equivalent therefor would be obtained from themachine.

The invention also has for its object to simplify the construction andorganization of the elements of the machine, to reduce the numher ofparts, and to provide positively-operating devices whereby but a singlearticle or package may be delivered for each coin or other valuedeposited in the machine.

The above and additional objects I attain by means substantially such asare illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is afront elevation, in part section, of a coin-controlled vending apparatusor machine, the elements of which are constructed and organizedsubstantially in accordance with my invention; and Fig. 2 is a verticaltransverse sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1,representing a plurality of columns of packages or the like, togetherwitha plurality of mechanisms,

each of which is adapted to be set in readiness to be operated ondeposit of the proper coin in the coin-chute belonging thereto. Fig. 4is a perspective View in detail, representing the construction andorganization of the elements of the apparatus or machine more clearly.

Before proceeding with a more detailed description it may be stated thatI employ any suitable box or casing in which the operative elements ofthe machine are contained or housed, and interiorly of said box orcasing I provide a suitable compartment,preferably of internaldimensions approximating the external dimensions of the articles orpackages to be vended, said inner compartment extending from the upperend of the machine to a suitable height from the base thereof. Beneaththe lower open end of the inner compartment is a support on which reststhelow- 7o ermost package of the column or pile of packages contained insaid compartment, and a suitable displacer or ejector for the packagesis employed, which is rendered capable of being effectively operatedeach time a proper coin is deposited or inserted in the machine. Thedisplacer or ejector is hand-operated,and on completion of each of itsreturn movements the column or pile of packages automatically descendsto carry a new package into position to be delivered on the next forwardmovement of said displacer or ejector. Practically all of the operativeelements of the machine are iuclosed, and said elements cooperate in theproduction of a very simple and effective apparatus or machine for thepurpose mentioned.

Reference being had to the accompanying drawings by the designatingcharacters thereon, A, Fig. 1, represents a suitable base, upon 0 whichis mounted a box or casing B, said box or casing being practicallyrectangular and being extended or widened at the lower part a thereof,so as to accommodate the operative elements of the apparatus or machine.The 5 casing is preferably provided with a removable hinged cover or lid1), which is secured in a closed position by means of a suitable lock 0,Fig. l, and constructed within said casing is a compartment 61 forcontaining the column or pile of articles or packages 6 to besuccessively delivered or vended by the machine on the deposit thereinof coins of, the proper size or weight. ment d is closed by the cover orlid 1) and the lower end thereof is open, (seen more clearly at Fig. 2,)and access is had to said compartment by raising said cover or lid.Located on the base A of the machine is a specially-constructed innercasing E the upper end or surface f of which constitutes a platform ortable, upon which rests the column or pile of articles or packages 6contained in said inner compartment (1, the distance between suchsurfacefand the lower end of said compartment being substantially equalto the depth or thickness of one of said articles or packages. (See Fig.2.) The inner casing B is preferably inclined at the front portion 9'thereof, so as to facilitate the passage of the displaced or ejectedarticle or package to the outlet h therefor in the lower part of themachine, and said inner casing is formed with a slot 2", in which worksthe substantially sectorshaped displacer or ejector O, the curvedportion of which consists of an arc plate C, slightly less in width thanthe distance between thesides of compartment d, said are plate being theelement which directly engages the packages, as hereinafter explained.The displacer or ejectoris mounted to rock with a shaft Z, having itshearings in the sides of the inner casing B (see Fig. 4,) and secured toone side of said displacer or ejector, by means of screws m or in anyother suitable way, is an arm n, which is bent at 0, so as to extendgradually outwardly and downwardly in the direction of the rear side ofthe machine, said arm, as hereinafter more particularly described,cooperating with a coin-operated device which normally engages or looksthe displacer or ejector against movement. Said coin-operated device maybe constructed in different ways, butin the presentinstauce consistssimply of an angle-lever D, pivoted in an extension of the lower part ofcompartment d, the horizontal arm 1 of said angle-lever normallyextending substantially parallel with the packages some distance to therear of said compartment d, while the arm 2 thereof uormally occupiessubstantially avertical position and is weighted at 3 to tend to carrythe said arm inwardly to engage the notch 4 in the adjacent edge of thesaid are plate 0, (see Fig. 4,) thus normally holding the packagedisplacer or ejector in a locked position. The said horizontal arm 1 ofthe angle-lever D projects into and across the lower extremity of acoin-chute 10, at or near the coin outlet 19 of the latter andsubstantially at right angles to the edge of the deposited coin s, theweight of said coin being greater than the weight of the lever-arm 2 andserving to rock said angle-lever D, so as to disengage the displacer orejector O to permit the latter to be operated to eject a package fromthe column of packages contained in compartment d. The displacer orejector is operated to displace and eject a package by depressing a Theinner compart-v hand-lever G, projecting outside of the machine, asshown, and the inner end of which is secured to one end of the shaft Z,on which said ejectoris mounted or supported. (See Fig. 4E.) Onreleasing pressure from said thumb-lever the said displacer or ejectoris restored to its normal position by means of a spring, (indicated atf,Fig. 2.) It maybe stated at this point that though the weight of thecoin is sufficient to rock or tilt the angle-lever D to disengage thearm 2 thereof from the arc plate G of the ejector, still the coin is notimmediately released to drop into the cash-receptacle 'Lb beneath onaccount of the portion of arm it near the bend 0 thereof serving as astop for lever-arm 2, which prevents arm 1 from being lowered very farat first. On operating the displacer or ejector to eject a package,however, the arm n is of course moved forwardly with said displacer orejector, and inasmuch as said arm is bent gradually outwardly anddownwardly, as already explained, the weight of the coin on arm 1 ofangle-lever D will gradually lower said arm 1 and carry the arm 2thereof outwardly proportionate to the extent permitted by the outwardinclination of said arm n, it being understood that the said arm 2 ofthe angle-lever D is held to said arm 'n of the displacer or ejector bythe weight of the coin during the whole forward movement of saiddisplacer or ejector. Thus it will be seen that the coin is releasedfrom the lever-arm l to pass to the coin-receptacle u practically at thetime of completion of the forward movement of the displacer or ejector,and immediately this operation takes place the said displacer or ejectoris restored to its former position by means of spring f. In the meantimethe column of packages has become lowered by gravity an extentsubstantially equaling the depth or thickness of one of the packages,the next lowermost package taking position for ejectment on the nextoperation of the machine. By the construction and organization ofelements thus described and shown it will be seen that no actualdelivery of an article or package can take place until release of thecoin to the coin-receptacle has been accomplished, and it will also beseen that the delivery of the article or package is absolutely certain,provided the proper coin be inserted in the coin-chute 1Q previous toattempting to depress the operating-lever G for the displacer orejector. To prevent injurious strain upon the operative mechanism, suchas might occurif the handlever G is tampered within the normal positionof the parts, I provide on the interior of inner casing B a stationarystop 12, one edge of which is in contact with the adjacent side of arm 2of angle-lever D just below the engaging point between said arm and areplate 0' of the displacer or ejector, (see Fig. 2,) and it will be seenthat any pressure put upon the lever G without previously inserting acoin in the chute 10 will be received principally by said stop 12. Whenthe anglelever D is moved by the weight of a coin on the arm 1 thereof,the arm 2 of saidlever moves against the edge of the said stop 12. Ofcourse as soon as lever-arm 2 is disengaged from the notch in the arcplate 0 the displacer or ejector O, is free to be operated in the manneralready explained by which to displace and eject a package from themachine. The packages themselves may be of any desired charactersuch,for instance, as boxes of matches, candies, or other articles.

The coin-chute 10 leads from the coin slot or aperture 15, formed in thefront of the machine at near the top thereof, and said chute is inclinedat 16 and extends inwardly of the machine a suitable distance, thencedownwardly at 18. (See Fig. 2.) As before stated, the arm 1 ofangle-lever D extends across said chute transversely of the edge of thedeposited coin, said arm working in a plane parallel with thecoin-outlet p, leading to the coin-receptacle u, access to which latteris had in any suitable way," as by means of a hinged door o, having asuitable lock to.

In Fig. 3 I have shown myimproved vending machine or apparatus intriplicate, it being understood, of course, that any number of themachines may be thus united or made up in one structure, thereby greatlyincreasing the capacity. The same designating characters employed forFigs. 1, 2, and 4 also apply to each of the mechanisms shown in saidFig. 3, the construction and organization of elements beingsubstantially the same in each instance.

In order to prevent insertion or deposit of coins in the machine afterthe stock or supply of packages therein has become exhausted, Ipreferably employ suitable means for automatically closing the coin slotor aperture immediately on completion of the return movement of thedisplacer or ejector after the latter has been operated to eject fromthe machine the last one of a column or pile of packages, and in thisWay insertions of coins in the machine will be prevented when noequivalent therefor is to be obtained from the machine. Thus in suitablebearings 20 and 22, Fig. 2, I mount a short shaft 23, on which isrigidly held or supported a toothed ratchet-wheel 24, the number of theteeth of which corresponds to the total number of packages thecompartment (1 of the machine is intended to contain, said shaft andratchetwheel being prevented from back movement by means of aspring-pressed pawl 25, pivoted to the side of said compartment d andtaking into the teeth of said wheel, substantially as shown. The shaft23 is also provided with a circular plate or disk 26, having at a pointof its circumference or periphery a notch 27, the sides of which at thebeginning of operations occupy a position just past a truly verticalline, and resting upon the edge of said circular plate or diskimmediately at one edge of said notch 27 is the lower end of theengaging portion 28 of a lockingplate M, which is slotted at 29 and 30to have vertical movement on pins 31 and 32, projecing from the innerside of the front of the casing, said plate being of a length tonormally reach to the upper end of the outer casing and also havingtherein a slot 33, normally registering with the coin slot or aperture10. \Vorking loosely on the shaft 23 is one end of a lever 35, havingpivoted thereto a spring-pressed actuating-pawl 36 for saidratchet-wheel 24, the other end of said lever being movably connected at37 with the upper end of a connecting-rod 38, the lower end of whichlatter is similarly connected at 39 with the operating hand-lever G.

Assuming that the operative parts of the mechanism are in the positionsindicated in the drawings, the operation of the machine is as follows:On depositing a coin of predetermined size or weight in the coin-chutethe said coin falls across the arm 1 of angle-lever D, as alreadyexplained, rocking said lever so as to release engagement of theweighted arm 2 thereof with the arc-plate of the displacer or ejectorfor the packages, whereupon by depressing the hand-lever G the saiddisplacer or ejector will be operated to expel or eject the lowermostpackage from beneath the column or pile of packages resting on top ofthe inner casing B On each full depression of said hand-lever G theratchetwheel 2t will be moved the distance of one tooth thereof, thecircular plate or disk 26 being likewise moved or turned a correspondingdistance. The said ratchet-wheel is herein shown as provided withtwenty-five teeth, which correspond with the number of packagescontained in the compartment d, and thus when the displacer or ejectorhas been finally operated to expel or eject from the machine the lastpackage of the column or pile thereof the notch 27 of disk 26 will bebrought into alinement with the portion 28 of of locking-plate M,whereupon said plate will descend or move downwardly of its own weight,and the said portion 28 thereof will enter said notch 27, and therebylock the entire mechanism of the machine against movement or operationduring the time there are no packages contained in the machine. Onplacing a new stock or supply of packages in the machine the parts areagain set as shown in the several figures of the drawings, and the sameoperations may be repeated. Of course on descent of said locking-plate Mthe upper part thereof closes over the coin slot or aperture in anobvious manner, the downward movement of the plate being limited by thebottom of notch 27 in disk 26.

It will be understood that I do not limit myself in practice to theprecise details of construction and organization of elements hereinshown and described, since variations thereof may be made and still bewithin the scope of my invention.

Having now described my invention, I claim 1. A coin-controlledapparatus comprising an inner package-compartment open at its lower endand having an extension on one side at such end, a platform forsupporting a pile of packages in the compartment, an ejector comprisingan arc-plate for ejecting the packages one by one from the bottom of thepile, said arc-plate having a notch in one edge thereof, and a Weightedangle-lever pivoted in said extension with an arm thereof engaging insaid notch, said arm being operated to release such engagement by aninserted coin of predetermined weight, and the said ejector beingprovided at one side with a downwardly and rearwardly bent arm movingagainst said lever-arm for controlling the movement of the lever todeliver the coin to the receptacle therefor on completion of the forwardmovement of the ejector.

2. A coin-controlled apparatus comprising an inner package-compartmentopen at its lower end and having an extension on one side at such end, aplatform having a slot and supporting a pile of packages in thecompartment, an ejector working in said slot and comprising an arc platefor ejecting the packages one by one from the bottom of the pile, saidarc plate having a notch in one edge thereof, and a weighted angle-1ever pivoted in said extension with an arm thereof engaging in saidnotch, said arm being operated to release such engagement by an insertedcoin of predetermined weight, and the said ejector being provided at oneside with a downwardly and rearwardly bent arm moving against saidlever-arm for controlling the movement of the lever to deliver the cointo the receptacle therefor on completion of the forward movement of theejector.

3. A coin-controlled apparatus comprising an inner package-compartmentopen at its lower end and having an extension on one side at such end,an inner casing the upper surface of which is formed with a slot andconstitutes a platform for supporting a pile of packages in thecompartment, an ejector mounted in the sides of said casing andcomprising an arc plate for ejecting the packages one by one from thebottom of the pile, said are plate having a notch in one edge thereof,and a weighted angle-lever pivoted in said extension with an arm thereofengaging in said notch, said arm being operated to release suchengagement by an inserted coin of predetermined weight, and the saidejector being provided at one side with a downwardly and rearwardly bentarm moving against said lever-arm for controlling the movement of thelever to deliver the coin to the receptacle therefor on completion ofthe forward movement of the ejector.

4. A coin-controlled apparatus comprising a casing having a coin-slot, acoin-chute, and an inner package-compartment open at its lower end andhaving an extension on one side at such end, a platform supporting apile of packages in the compartment, an ejector comprising an arc platefor ejecting the packages one by one from the bottom of the pile, saidare plate having a notch in one edge thereof, and a weighted angle-leverpivoted in said extension with an arm thereof extending across the lowerend of the coin-chute, and its other arm engaging in said notch, saidlast-named arm being operated to release such engagement by an insertedcoin of predetermined weight falling on the first-named arm, and thesaid ejector being provided at one side with a downwardly and rearwardlybent arm moving against said lever-arm for controlling the movement ofthe lever to deliver the coin to the receptacle therefor on completionof the forward movement of the ejector.

5. Acoin-controlled vending-machine, comprising a casing having acoin-slot, a coinchute, and an inner compartment for containing a lot ofpackages or the like, means for ejecting the packages one by one, andmeans for closing said coin-slot succeeding the ejectment of the lastpackage of the lot, said means including an intermittently-operatedrotatable disk having a notch, and a gravity-plate dropping into saidnotch on completion of rotation of the disk.

6. Acoin-controlled vending-machine,com-

prising a casing having a coin-slot, a coinchute, and an innerpackage-compartment open at its lower end, a platform for supporting apile of packages Within the compartment, means for displacing andejecting the packages one by one from the bottom of the pile, and meansfor automatically closing said coin-slot succeeding the ejectment of thelast package of the pile, said means including anintermittently-operated rotatable disk having a notch, and agravity-plate dropping into said notch on completion of rotation of thedisk.

7. A coin-controlled vending-machine, comprising a casing having acoin-slot, a coinchute, and an inner package-compartment open at itslower end, a platform for supporting a pile of packages within thecompartment, normally engaged devices for displacing and ejecting thepackages one by one from the bottom of the pile, means for releasingsuch engagement on deposit in the chute of a coin of predeterminedweight, and means for closing said coin-slot succeeding the ejectment ofthe last package of the pile, said means including anintermittently-operated rotatable disk having a notch, and agravity-plate dropping into said notch on completion of rotation of thedisk.

8. Acoin-controlled vending-machine, comprising a casing having acoin-slot, a coinchute, and an inner compartment for containing a lot ofpackages or the like, means for ejecting the packages one by one, saidmeans including a hand-lever, a shaft carrying a

